Harlem River Park

The name Harlem comes from the Dutch city of Haarlem. When New York was New Amsterdam, this section in northern Manhattan was known as Nieuw Haarlem and the eight miles of waterway that flowed along its eastern shore between became the Harlem River. Governor General Peter Stuyvesant (1592-1672) of New Amsterdam offered newcomers between 40 and 50 acres per family to settle in the sparsely populated area, and a diverse group of settlers accepted. French, Walloon, Danish, Swedish, German, and Dutch colonists established farms on the fertile soil.